Aurelia Butler

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore’s biggest bank DBS Group (OTC:DBSDY) reported record first-quarter profit on Tuesday, rising a stronger-than-expected 43% from a year earlier on a higher net interest margin, sustained business momentum and resilient asset quality.Southeast Asia’s largest lender by assets however said its net interest margin likely peaked in the first quarter and there would be a gradual decline. It also said housing loan bookings may see some impact from latest cooling measures by the government. “We delivered a record performance and benefited from safehaven deposit inflows during a quarter marked by increased market volatility,” DBS Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said in a statement.January-March net profit rose to S$2.57 billion ($1.9 billion) from S$1.8 billion a year ago, beating a mean estimate of S$2.44 billion from five analysts polled by Refinitiv.Return on equity rose to a new high of 18.6% in the first quarter from 13.1% the same quarter a year earlier. Full-year return on equity likely to be above 17%, it added.DBS reported a total net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, of 2.12% for the first quarter, up from 1.46% in the same period a year earlier. DBS expected full-year net interest margin at 2.05% to 2.10%. Singapore banks have benefited from a strong inflow of deposits amid global uncertainty due to their status as a financial safe haven. Smaller peer United Overseas Bank (OTC:UOVEY) reported on Thursday a 74% surge in core net profit in the first quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong net interest and non- interest income growth.Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp announces its first-quarter results on May 10.DBS, which earns most of its profit from Singapore and Hong Kong, declared a dividend of 42 Singapore cents per share for the first quarter.($1 = 1.3362 Singapore dollars) More

The date is sooner than an estimate Treasury made in January, suggesting that the U.S.’s fiscal situation is more precarious than earlier known. Here is how lawmakers, economists and others have reacted: DEMOCRATIC SENATOR SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, CHAIR OF SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE:”Republicans’ failure to agree to cleanly raise the debt ceiling has brought the United States to the brink of economic catastrophe. Today, we learned that we are potentially within a month of a self-inflicted economic shock that could dwarf the Great Recession, and Republicans are holding our economy hostage, adding to economic instability … Hostage-taking is not the way this country governs. We must change course, cleanly raise the debt ceiling, and avert widespread economic pain and instability while we still can.”NO. 2 SENATE REPUBLICAN JOHN THUNE:”It reinforces the need for the president to get up here or to get (House Speaker Kevin) McCarthy down there to meet with him, one way or the other. I mean, time is a-wasting.”REPRESENTATIVE BRENDAN BOYLE, RANKING MEMBER OF HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE:”House Republicans are running out of time to avert an economic catastrophe of their own making. Today’s update from the Treasury Department needs to be a wakeup call for Speaker McCarthy – he has wasted enough of the House’s time appeasing his extreme MAGA Republican allies.”DEMOCRATIC SENATOR RON WYDEN, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR:”A catastrophic default that would wipe out millions of jobs and crater the American economy is potentially just weeks away, and it’s a crisis manufactured by House Republicans. With Republicans openly admitting they’ll never support anything less than the ransom note they passed last week, not even a bipartisan compromise, it’s clear this has never been a serious negotiation. It is entirely about holding our economy hostage.”DEMOCRATIC SENATOR PATTY MURRAY, SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBER:”House Republicans need to understand that holding the majority means they need to actually govern it’s time to get serious about working with Democrats to simply pay our nation’s bill and avoid a catastrophic default as soon as possible. The clock is ticking – and much faster than many suspected – so House Republicans need to drop their dangerous opposition to paying our nation’s bills.”DEMOCRATIC SENATOR BRIAN SCHATZ:”To take the American economy hostage cannot be tolerated, and the only thing scarier than not negotiating with these people is negotiating with them, because they will never, ever stop holding Americans and the American economy hostage.” Asked if Democrats can maintain that line, he replied: “We must.”REPUBLICAN SENATOR MITT ROMNEY:”Defaulting on our debt is a frightening prospect – it would destabilize our economy, harm global commerce, and hurt our allies. Furthermore, we wouldn’t be able to send Social Security checks or pay our soldiers. The President must negotiate on raising the debt ceiling.”INDEPENDENT SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS:”There are progressive and fair ways to save money and generate revenue … So the goal is, if you want to save money, if you want to cut the deficit, that’s fine. Do it in a way that’s fair, not on the backs of working people.”DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JON TESTER:”This is nothing to fool around with. The money has been spent. We do not want to default. Let’s get the debt ceiling taken care of, but let’s talk about how we can reduce the deficit and common-sense ways. If we don’t get the debt ceiling, then we go into it a depression.”DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOE MANCHIN:”I hope President Biden’s invitation to Congressional leaders is sincere and he is genuinely willing to negotiate because the country cannot afford a failed negotiation. Every day without action brings the American government closer to default and the American people closer to economic chaos. I urge President Biden to show true leadership and finally put politics aside and the well-being of our nation first.”SHAI AKABAS, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC POLICY, BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER:”Treasury Secretary Yellen’s letter reminds us that the U.S. government is again within mere months or even weeks of failing to make good on all its obligations. That is not a position befitting of a country considered the bedrock of the financial system, and only adds uncertainty to an already shaky economy … Now, the actual work of negotiating must be done, as this situation will only be resolved when both sides work together on behalf of the American people.” More

INCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) – Asian finance leaders on Tuesday will debate ways to beef up regional safeguards to better address emergency funding needs during pandemics and natural disasters, as global recession fears and volatile financial markets cloud the economic outlook.The impact of U.S. interest rate hikes on the region’s capital flows may also be discussed when finance ministers and central bank chiefs of ASEAN+3 – which groups the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, China and South Korea – meet on Tuesday.Japan, which co-chairs this year’s meeting of ASEAN+3 nations with Indonesia, hopes to discuss strengthening currency swap lines, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters on Friday.Japan is keen to propose a facility that enhances usage of existing currency swap lines, and allows members to tap funds in times of emergencies such as pandemics and natural disasters, said three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.The recent failures of two U.S. banks have heightened alarm among policymakers about vulnerabilities in the global banking system and potential market turbulence that could re-emerge from aggressive U.S. interest rate hikes.In a meeting with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts held prior to the ASEAN+3 gathering, South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said cooperation among the three countries has become more important for Asia and the rest of the world, as the global economy stands at an “inflection point.”After being hit by the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the ASEAN+3 group created a network of currency swap lines called the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) in 2000, and revamped it into a multilateral network in 2010, to help each other forestall or combat sharp capital outflows.But the swap lines have never been used, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving rise to calls from within the group to make the system more easily accessible in the event of shock events.While Asian policymakers stress their countries have sufficient foreign reserves and buffers to fend off another crisis, they may see scope to make enhancements to the existing arrangements to combat potential market upheaval, analysts say.”The fact CMIM has never been tapped since being created shows countries find it hard to use,” said Toru Nishihama, chief emerging market economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.While it was important to make CMIM more flexible, countries should also ensure they have a strong surveillance scheme in place to avoid causing moral hazard, he added.Developing Asia is expected to achieve strong economic growth of 4.8% in 2023, faster than 4.2% growth in 2022 thanks to China’s rebound, according to the Asia Development Bank’s (ADB) projections.The ASEAN+3 finance leaders, including Suzuki and Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda, are meeting on the sidelines of the ADB’s annual meeting in Incheon in South Korea this week. More

The top Senate Democrat also opened the door to talks aimed at crafting a bipartisan agreement on spending and revenue. Republicans who control the House of Representatives passed legislation last week that would lift the debt ceiling while slashing government spending, an approach that Democrats have rejected in preference for action on the debt ceiling without conditions. “This process will ensure that once a clean debt ceiling is passed, the House bill is available for a bipartisan agreement on spending and revenue as part of the regular budget process,” the Schumer spokesman said. More

Minister Choo Kyung-ho said such cooperation would not only help the three countries, which account for more than 20% of the world economy, but also the Asian region and the world, during his opening remarks at a trilateral meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. The countries’ economic leaders met on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting of the board of governors held in Incheon, South Korea. More